Maharashtra observed 61% voting; Haryana records 65% voter turnout

A total of 51 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies across 17 states and one union territory observed voting that concluded peacefully on Monday.

Anab Mehdi
Published on: 21 Oct 2019 4:37 AM GMT
Maharashtra observed 61% voting; Haryana records 65% voter turnout
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Lucknow: A total of 51 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha constituencies across 17 states and one union territory observed voting that concluded peacefully on Monday.

Polling is being held to elect Maharashtra and Haryana assemblies with the BJP and its allies seeking to retain power in the two states on the back of the recent Lok Sabha polls victory, while the opposition is hoping to turn the tide by taking advantage of any anti-incumbency.

Let us check below the voter turnout in different states:

Just over 47 per cent turnout in UP bypolls

Just over 47 per cent of eligible voters exercised their franchise in the bypolls to 11 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

Polling began at 7 am amid tight security, officials said, adding that 47.05 per cent of electors exercised their franchise.

Gangoh in Saharanpur district saw the highest turnout with about 60.30 per cent voters exercising their franchise.

In Lucknow Cantonment, only 28.53 per cent of eligible electors cast their vote.

According to the office of the UP Chief Electoral Officer, among the other constituencies, Jalalpur witnessed 58.80 per cent polling followed by Zaidpur (58), Manikpur (52.10), Balha (52), Ghosi (51), Rampur (44), Pratapgarh (44), Iglas (36.20) and Govindnagar (32.60).

60.46 pc voting in Maharashtra Assembly polls

Maharashtra Assembly elections held on Monday saw a voter turnout of 60.46 per cent till the closing hour of 6 pm, election officials said here.

The final figure of polling could increase and it will be available on Tuesday, offcials said.

The highest turn-out was reported in Karveer constituency in Kolhapur, at 83.20 per cent. The lowest turnout was recorded in south Mumbai's upmarket Colaba area at 40.20 per cent.

In the last assembly election in 2014, the state had recorded 63.38 per cent voter turn-out.

Rural areas of the state fared better, with voters there showing more enthusiasm than their urban counterparts.

A galaxy of bigwigs from politics, Bollywood and India Inc joined the young and the old in exercising their franchise in this festival of democracy.

Prominent voters included RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, former President Pratibha Patil and MNS chief Raj Thackeray.

From Shah Rukh Khan to Salman Khan, from Kareena Kapoor Khan to Deepika Padukone, Mumbai's polling booths witnessed several Bollywood celebrities who came out to vote.

Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit Nene and Lara Dutta were among the tinsel town figures who exercised their franchise.

Actor Riteish Deshmukh and wife Genelia cast their vote in Latur district, where Amit and Dheeraj, brothers of Ritesh and sons of former CM late Vilasrao Deshmukh, are contesting as Congress candidates.

The state has total 8,98,39,600 voters, including 1,06,76,013 in the age group of 18 to 25 years. Nearly 6.5 lakh polling personnel were deployed at 96,661 polling booths across the state.

A total of 4,698 EVM-VVPAT units, 665 ballot units, 596 control units and 3,437 only VVPAT machines developed snags, and these faulty machines were replaced, election officials said.

Haryana records 65 pc turnout, sharp dip from last assembly polls

Haryana on Monday recorded a voter turnout of 65 per cent in the assembly polls, a sharp drop from the 2014 elections which brought the BJP to power in the state.

Seven people were hurt in stone-pelting between two groups in a Nuh village and there were minor incidents in Rohtak, Narnaul and Bahadurgah districts, police said. But they maintained that polling over the 90 assembly constituencies was largely peaceful.

The turnout was less than the 76.54 percentage in the 2014 assembly elections and the 70.36 per cent recorded over the state's 10 parliamentary constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections this year.

Currently, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has 48 members in the state assembly and the Congress 17.

Prominent figures in a field of 1,169 contestants include Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, former Congress CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Jannayak Janta Party leader Dushyant Chautala and Indian National Lok Dal's Abhay Singh Chautala.

A high turnout was recorded in Naraingarh (74), Mulana (72), Sadhuara (74), Jagadhri (73), Radaur (68.20), Ladwa (71), Kaithal (74), Tohana (80), Tosham (70), Meham (70), Ellenabad (70), and Garhi Sampla-Kiloi (68).

But Karnal, from where Chief Minister M L Khattar is seeking re-election, recorded a modest turnout of 50 per cent.

Other constituencies that recorded a relatively lower polling percentage are Panipat City (45), Rohtak (54), Nilokheri (57), Hisar (54), Adampur (60), Gurgaon (52) and Faridabad (48).

Punjab bypolls: More than 60 pc polling on four assembly seats

An overall turnout of more than 60 per cent was registered in the bypolls to four assembly seats -- Phagwara (reserve), Jalalabad, Dakha and Mukerian -- in Punjab, with the chief electoral officer saying that voting was peaceful.

Polling began at 7 am on Monday and voters in the queue were allowed to exercise their franchise even after 6 pm, officials said.

Polling was slow in the morning, but as the day progressed it picked up pace. Around 7.76 lakh voters were eligible to decide the fate of 33 candidates. The results of the elections will be declared on October 24.

Seven companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in four assembly segments, a poll official said.

A total 920 polling stations have been set up. Some polling stations in Dakha and Jalalabad have been categorized as sensitive. In the 117-member Punjab Assembly, the Congress at present has 77 legislators.

Nearly 69 per cent of electors exercise their franchise in Himachal bypolls

Nearly 69 per cent polling was recorded for two assembly seats in Himachal Pradesh on Monday, a state election official said.

Pachhad saw 72.85 per cent voting, whereas 65.39 per cent of eligible voters exercised their franchise in Dharamshala, he added.

In Dharamshala, 53,063 electors-- 26,423 men and 26640 women--cast their votes, a district official said.

In Pachhad, 53,844 electors, including 25,135 women, exercised their franchise.

A total of 202 polling stations were set up for Pachhad and Dharamshala seats, Additional Chief Electoral Officer (Additional CEO) Rupali Thakur said.

While 113 polling stations were set up in Pachhad, 89 were in Dharamshala, she added.

An auxiliary polling station was also set up at the Dari old age home to facilitate 24 elderly inmates to cast their vote in Dharamshala, Thakur said.

Thirteen polling stations in Pachhad and 10 in Dharamshala were identified as vulnerable, Thakur said, adding that four polling stations in Dharamshala were critical.

A total of 12 candidates tried their luck for the two seats.

The counting of votes will take place on October 24.

Gujarat bypolls: 53.68% turnout in six assembly seats

A 53.68 per cent turnout was recorded in the byelections to six Assembly constituencies in Gujarat on Monday.

Counting of votes will be taken up on October 24.

The bypolls were held for Tharad in Banaskantha district, Radhanpur in Patan, Kheralu in Mehsana, Bayad in Arvalli, Amraiwadi in Ahmedabad and Lunawada in Mahisagar district.

By 6 pm, Tharad recorded the highest turnout of 68.95 percent, while Amraiwadi, an urban seat of Ahmedabad city, recorded the lowest 34.75 per cent polling.

While Radhanpur seat recorded 62.95 per cent turnout, it was 61.01 per cent in Bayad. It was followed by Lunawada (51.23 per cent) and Kheralu (46.15 per cent), officials said.

Bypolls end peacefully in TN, Puducherry; turnout over 65 pc

Bypolls to two Assembly seats in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry ended peacefully without any untoward incidents and each of these segments have clocked voting percentage of over 65 per cent.

In Tamil Nadu, Vikravandi segment topped with 84.36 per cent voting, and it was 66.10 per cent in Nanguneri and Puducherry's Kamaraj Nagar segment saw 69.44 per cent polling, election officials said.

In Nanguneri, which has 2.57 lakh voters, 23 candidates are in the fray and Vikravandi with 2.23 lakh electors, 12 nominees are trying their luck.

Over 3,000 personnel were deployed to conduct bypolls in Tamil Nadu and six companies of paramilitary forces -three each in two segments- were pressed into service in addition to State police.

All the 574 polling stations in Vikravandi (275) and Nanguneri (299) were covered by live web streaming.

In Kamaraj Nagar constituency, which has 35,009 voters, Central armed police force personnel were deployed besides territorial police.

Samastipur LS seat records 45 per cent voting;49.26 pc polling

A total of 45 per cent voters' turnout was recorded in Samastipur Lok Sabha constituency, while 49.26 per cent polling was registered in the bypolls on five assembly constituencies in Bihar, which passed off peacefully on Monday.

Out of 32,23,169 voters, 49.26 per cent people exercised their franchise on 3258 polling stations in five assembly constituencies of Kishanganj, Simri Bakhtiarpur, Nathnagar, Belhar and Daraundha in the by-elections in the state with a total of 51, including 6 women candidates, trying their luck in the fray.

Kishanganj witnessed the highest voters' turnout of 59.18 per cent followed by 53.49 per cent in Belhar, 52.50 in Simri Bakhtiarpur, 43.20 in Nathnagar while Daraundha recorded lowest electoral participation of 42.20 per cent at the end of voting this evening, he said.

Samastipur lok sabha constituency saw 45 per cent voters turnout against the 60.63 voting percentage recorded during the 2019 general elections on the seat, said Srinivasa, who was accompanied by Additional Director General of Police (ADG) (Headquarters) Jitendra Kumar.

Similarly, five assembly constituencies, which polled 49.26 per cent during the day, witnessed 9.73 per cent lower turnout when compared to 58.99 voters participation in these constituencies during the general elections, the CEO said.

68 per cent votes cast in Sikkim, highest turnout in CM's seat

An estimated 67.99 per cent of around 44,500 voters exercised their franchise on Monday in by-polls in three Sikkim Assembly seats, including one from which the chief minister who is not a member of the House, is contesting.

The highest voter turnout of 79.36 per cent was recorded at Poklok Kamrang constituency where chief minister Prem Singh Tamang aka Golay is locked in a triangular contest, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said.

In the two other seats, Martam Rumtek and Gangtok, 72.60 per cent and 52.03 per cent votes were polled respectively.

Counting of votes will take place on October 24.

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Key candidates in Haryana assembly polls

Some key candidates in Haryana include Manohar Lal Khattar who is contesting from Karnal.

The current leader of the Opposition in Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be contesting from his home constituency of Garhi Sampla-Kiloi in Rohtak district.

Abhay Singh Chautala is contesting from Ellenabad constituency of Haryana's Sirsa district.

Dushyant Chautala, Abhay's nephew and founder of Jannayak Janta Party is contesting from the Uchana Kalan constituency.

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The BJP has fielded three high-profile sportspersons in Haryana Assembly elections.

Olympic medalist Dutt, Commonwealth gold medallist Babita Phogat and former Indian Hockey captain Sandeep Singh are contesting from Baroda, Dadri, and Pehowa Assembly constituencies.

A famous Tik Tok star, Sonali Phogat, contesting from Admapur seat is also among women candidates fielded by the BJP in this election.

Key candidates in Maharashtra assembly polls

CM Devendra Fadnavis is seeking re-election from Nagpur South-West seat and will face Congress' Ashish Deshmukh.

Congress leader and former Chief Minister, Prithviraj Chavan is pitted against BJP's Atulbaba Bhosale in Karad South.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya Thackeray, who is the first member of the Thackeray family to contest, is making his electoral debut from Worli Assembly seat in Mumbai.

NCP's strongman and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is contesting from his family bastion of Baramati where BJP's Gopichand Padalkar will challenge him.

Leader of Opposition in Assembly, Vijay Namdeorao Wadettiwar is contesting from Brahmapuri seat and is pitted against Sandeep Wamanrao Gaddamwar of Shiv Sena and Aam Aadmi Party's Paromita Prangopal Goswami.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Bachhu Patil is seeking his election from Kothrud while party's Mumbai president Mangal Prabhat Lodha is pitted against Congress' Hira Navaji Devas in Malabar Hill.

Sharad Pawar's grand-nephew Rohit Pawar is making his electoral debut from Karjat-Jamkhed seat where he will face competition from BJP's Ram Shankar Shinde.

Three million voters across the eastern state will contribute in deciding the fate of 51 candidates.

The state recorded 63.38 per cent turnout in the 2014 Assembly polls.

Uttar Pradesh bypolls: Villages in Aligarh district boycott voting over lack of development work

About half a dozen villages in Iglas, Aligarh have boycotted the voting saying that there is no use of exercising the franchise as no development work has been done in their area despite making several requests to the administration and representatives.

Swabhimani Paksha candidate shot , thrashed

Three motocycle-borne masked men fired at a candidate of pro-farmer outfit Swabhimani Paksha on Monday when he was going in a car, and also beat him up after pulling him out of the vehicle in Maharashtra's Amravati district, police said.

The attackers later set the car ablaze, Shendurjana Ghat police station's inspector Maruti Gedam said.

The incident took place on Malkhed road in Amravati, located around 150 km from here, he said.

Devendra Bhuyar, the nominee of Raju Shetti's Swabhimani Paksha from Morshi seat, was going to Warud in a car along with some workers of the outfit when the three masked persons fired at him around 5.30 am, Gedam said.

The attackers later forcefully stopped the vehicle, pulled out its occupants and thrashed them, he said.

They then poured petrol on Bhuyar's vehicle and set it afire before running away, the official said.

Bhuyar was taken to a hospital where his condition was reported to be normal, he said.

Bhuyar, whose outfit is an ally of the Congress and NCP, is contesting the state Assembly polls against BJP minister Anil Bonde from Morshi seat.

Anab Mehdi

Anab Mehdi

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